Method and tool device for forming

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a tool device for forming a section of a body. The device includes at least one moveable retaining device and at least one forming punch moveable in the direction of the retaining device. The section to be formed is arranged between the retaining device and the forming punch. The forming punch during the forming is moved from an initial position into a defined end position relative to the section to be formed. In order to limit the construction space and the forces to be applied, the tool device includes a wedge element which is in contact with the retaining device and/or a die such that a movement of the wedge element effects a movement of the retaining device and/or of the die in the forming direction. Furthermore, a forming method is provided with the aid of the tool device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a tool device for forming at least one section of a less precisely positioned body as well as a method for the forming with the aid of the tool device.

2. Discussion of Background Information

From DE 10 2004 038 208 A1, a tool device for the forming of at least one section of a less precisely positioned body by an amount such that the section to be formed lies in a more precisely defined position relative to it, is known. This tool device includes a movable retaining device as well as a forming punch that can be moved in the direction of the retaining device, wherein the section to be formed is arranged between the retaining device and forming punch. During the forming, first the retaining device is positioned on the section to be formed. Then the forming punch is moved in the direction of the retaining device, which leads to a forming of the section that is arranged between the retaining device and forming punch.

According to this so-called free forming, a further process step is usually carried out on the formed section, for example the punching of a hole in this section. For this purpose the surface of this section must first be smoothed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention includes a mechanism in the tool device with which the free forming as well as process steps subsequent to the free forming can be carried out in a simple manner and with the smallest possible construction space.

This is achieved according to the invention by a tool device for forming at least one section of a less precisely positioned body by an amount such that the section to be formed lies relative to it in a more precisely defined position, with at least one movable retaining device and at least one forming punch that is movable in the direction of the retaining device. The section to be formed is arranged between the retaining device and forming punch, and during the forming the forming punch is brought from an initial position into a defined end position relative to the section to be formed.

According to this the retaining device includes a wedge element that is in mating contact with the retaining device and/or a die in such a way that a movement of the wedge element effects a movement of the retaining device and/or of the die in the forming direction.

Die is to be understood to mean an element that exerts a relative movement on the section to be formed and thereby effects a further forming of the section, while retaining device is to be understood to mean an element that is or is brought to be in mating contact with the body and has the function of a brace.

In this manner a die for smoothing the surface is available on the one side, which die can be moved by a drive movement in a direction that does not lie directly in the forming direction. Thus, no construction space for the drive of the die is blocked in the actual forming movement. Therefore, the tool device can be embodied very narrow and can be used for the forming of sections that are accessible only from one side, even with cramped space conditions. It can therefore be used in particular when sections of bodies are to be formed that are already mounted in a larger unit, for example a motor vehicle body.

Furthermore, through the wedge element, the very high forces that are required for smoothing the surface of the section or for bracing during the forming can be absorbed without further clamping measures.

In an advantageous embodiment, the forming punch is fixed to one leg of an essentially L-shaped bracket and the other leg is slidably mounted on the end of a base of the tool device. The base and bracket thereby form forming tongs that are suitable for being inserted into clearances.

In a further preferred exemplary embodiment of the tool device, the wedge element is formed by a wedge displacer that is guided in the base. The wedge displacer can be moved in a very simple manner by a cylinder likewise mounted on the base. Only a very small force needs to be applied by the cylinder to move the wedge element.

Furthermore, the tool device advantageously includes a punching tool. With the aid of a punching tool a through hole, which serves for example to accept fixing means, can be produced in the section to be formed.

In a further possible exemplary embodiment, a spring mount is provided between the wedge element and the retaining device and/or die. In this way a prestressing force can be exerted on the die or the retaining device, which enables a simple return of these elements into their initial positions.

Moreover, a method for the forming of at least one section on a less precisely positioned body is provided by an amount such that the section to be formed lies in a more precisely defined position relative to it, with the aid of a tool device according to the invention. This method excels through the use of a wedge element for moving a die and/or a retaining device for smoothing the surface of the formed section or for generating a counteracting force. Through this simple and space-saving means, the method can be used advantageously even with bodies that are difficult to access.

In an advantageous embodiment, the method comprises the following steps: first the positioning of the retaining device on the section to be formed takes place, then the section to be formed is formed by a movement of the forming punch in the direction of the retaining device. Then the die is displaced within the retaining device in the direction of the forming punch with the aid of the wedge element, for the smoothing of the surface of the formed section.

In a further possible embodiment, first the positioning of the retaining device with respect to the section to be formed takes place, without a contact taking place between the retaining device and the section. Then, a joint displacement of the die and the retaining device takes place until a contact takes place between the retaining device and the section. Then, the section to be formed is formed by a movement of the forming punch in the direction of the retaining device against the resistance of the spring-mounted die. In this way the contact of the retaining device with the section to be formed is accelerated and simplified.

In a further preferred embodiment, a stop is formed by a wedge element and the die, up to which the stop, the section to be formed is formed by the forming punch. Thus, the wedge gains an additional function and serves for the formation of a stop that moreover can be adjusted in height in the forming direction. Furthermore, the formed section is simultaneously smoothed thereby.

Advantageously, a punching process is subsequently carried out on the formed section. This can be carried out in a simple and precise manner on the surface of the section to be formed that was smoothed in advance.

Further embodiments and advantages of the invention appear from the remaining subordinate claims and the specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, the invention is explained in more detail based on several exemplary embodiments. The drawings show:

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary embodiment of the tool device,

FIG. 2 shows a detail representation of the tool device according to FIG. 1 with the forming punch in an initial position,

FIG. 3 shows a detail representation according to FIG. 2 with the forming punch in an end position,

FIG. 4 shows a detail representation according to FIG. 3 with the die during the smoothing of the section to be formed,

FIG. 5 shows a detail representation of a further exemplary embodiment of the tool device with the forming punch in an initial position,

FIG. 6 shows a detail representation according to FIG. 5 after the contact of the retaining device, and

FIG. 7 shows a detail representation according to FIG. 5 after the forming of the section to be formed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a diagrammatic representation of a tool device 1 that comprises a base 27, which is fixed for example to an industrial robot or to a robot arm and that can be moved in space by the robot.

On this base 27, an essentially L-shaped bracket 23 is mounted that is movable in the direction of the double arrow, for example by an electromotive drive 47, relative to the base 27. The bracket 23 comprises two legs 21, 25, which are arranged perpendicular to one another, so that the free end of the second leg 25 can be displaced with respect to the base 27. At this free end an essentially circular cylindrical forming punch 9 is situated that is rigidly connected to the second leg 25. The longitudinal axis of the forming punch 9 corresponds to the forming direction 17 and thus runs parallel to the first leg 21 of the bracket 23.

Opposite the forming punch 9, a retaining device 7 is situated on the base 27 of the tool device 1. The retaining device 7 comprises a retaining body 8 rigidly connected to the base 27, which retaining body 8 essentially has the form of a circular cylindrical jacket. Furthermore, the tool device 1 comprises a die 15. The die 15 is essentially circular cylindrical, wherein its outer diameter is smaller than the inner diameter of the retaining body 8. Thus, the die 15 is movable inside the retaining body 8 in the axial direction. This tool device 1 is also called forming tongs.

FIG. 2 shows a detail view of the tool device 1. It is discernible in FIG. 2 (and FIG. 3) that the movement of the die 15 and the retaining device 7 in the forming direction 17 is generated by a corresponding linear movement 39 of a wedge element 19 that is situated adjacent to correspondingly shaped surfaces 41, 43 facing away, of the die 15 or of the retaining body 8. The linear movement 39 of the wedge element 19 is turned by 90° by the wedge form, so that the die 15 as well as the retaining body 8 undergo a movement in the forming direction 17. Deviating from this exemplary embodiment, it is possible in principle to displace the die 15 and the retaining device 7 individually or together, as will be explained below.

In this exemplary embodiment, the wedge element 19 is formed by a wedge displacer 29. This is provided inside the base 27 and can move in the base 27. The drive of the wedge displacer 29 takes place by a cylinder 31 connected for example pneumatically to the base 27. However, the drive can also take place hydraulically or electrically, depending on the desired drive power. Through the turning of the movement of the wedge displacer 29 by 90°, the tool device 1 can be embodied very narrow in the forming direction 17, so that it can be used even with little working space available.

In addition to the translatory movement of the wedge displacer 29, a rotatory movement of the wedge element 19 or a combined rotatory and translatory movement of it is possible. Thus, for example the wedge element 19 can additionally have a non-rotationally symmetrical geometry, through which a rotation of the wedge displacer 29 effects a movement of the die and/or of the retaining device 7 in the forming direction 17. This could for example be a tapered geometry combined with an eccentric geometry.

In operation, the tool device 1 is brought into the initial position 11 shown in FIG. 2 with the aid of a robot. In this initial position 11, the retaining body 8 is situated in mating contact with a section 3, which is to be formed, of a body 5, for example a sheet metal component of an automobile body.

Subsequently, a displacing movement of the bracket 23 with the forming punch 9 fixed thereon takes place in the forming direction 17 relative to the unmoved base 27. The section 3 to be formed is thereby formed by the forming punch 9 in the direction of the die 15, until the forming punch 9 has reached the end position 13 shown in FIG. 3. The forming punch 9 is situated thereby in the end position 13 not touching a part of the retaining device 7; rather, it is a so-called free forming. The defined movement of the forming punch 9 for the forming can take place in a path-controlled manner or limited by a stop arranged remotely from the forming punch 9 and the retaining device 7, as is shown in detail in DE 192 994 0038 A1 or in DE 192 2004 038 209 A1.

In this exemplary embodiment, a smoothing of the formed section 3 takes place subsequent to the forming. This is necessary because the embossing surface exhibits unevennesses after the free forming, which unevennesses make a further processing difficult: a flat embossing surface is achieved in that the die 15, as shown in FIG. 4, is moved towards the formed section 3 in the forming direction 17 through a linear movement 39 of the wedge displacer 29. The die 15 then exerts a correspondingly high force on the section 3, which leads to a smoothing of this section 3. For example, the cylinder 31 exerts a specified force on the wedge displacer 39 over a certain time period, which the wedge displacer 29 transfers to the die 15. This procedure of embossing with subsequent surface smoothing is also called controlled embossing.

In a subsequent process step, at least one through hole can be punched in the section 3 formed in a precisely positioned manner, for example with the aid of the punching tool 33. The punching tool 33 is situated in this exemplary embodiment behind the forming punch 9 and is moved through it, in order to attach for example a fastening means thereto.

In FIGS. 5 through 7, a further exemplary embodiment of the tool device 1 is shown. The same parts are labeled with the same reference numbers. Only the differences between the exemplary embodiments will be dealt with below.

The example according to FIGS. 5 through 7 differs from the first example in that the wedge element 19 is used to position the retaining device 7 as well as the die 15 such that the free forming can be carried out. This is therefore a touch procedure. The retaining body 8 as well as the die 15 can be jointly displaced in the forming direction 17 by the wedge element 19. Furthermore, a spring mount 35 is provided between the die 15 and the wedge element 19, so that the die 15 can again be moved in the forming direction 17 relative to the retaining body 8.

In operation, the tool device 1 is now first pre-positioned relative to the body 5 or to the section 3 to be formed, for example, by the robot. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the wedge displacer 29 is actuated via the cylinder 31, so that through the movement of the wedge element 19, opposing bodies 8 as well as the die 15 jointly move in the forming direction 17, which is inclined at 90° to the wedge displacing movement 39, until they lie adjacent to the section 3. The pressure of the cylinder 31 must be adjusted thereby so that no deformation of the section 3 takes place, as yet. Through the design of the wedge element 19, a self-retarding now occurs when an opposing force is applied depending on the angle of the wedge element 19 and its material, so that the retaining body 8 can no longer move axially.

Then the forming punch 9 is again conducted into the end position 13 by a defined path, as shown in FIG. 7, so that the forming of the section 3, as explained in the first example, takes place. The die 15 thereby yields correspondingly. In a subsequent punching procedure, the die 15 is needed thereby in order to offer the required resistance to the punching tool 33.

In the method shown in FIGS. 5 through 7, it is furthermore possible to carry out an additional smoothing of the section 3 after the free forming. With thin metal sheets, the smoothing of the section 3 takes place automatically through the spring force exerted on the die 15 by the spring mount 35. If they are thicker metal sheets, a second wedge element movable relative to the first wedge element can be provided for the smoothing after the forming, which second wedge element in a subsequent process step effects a movement of the die 15 in the direction of the section 3 relative to the retaining body 8, so that the die 15 exerts the force on the section 3 that is necessary for the smoothing. This could also take place through a combination of a translatory movement of the wedge element 19 for fixing the retaining body 8 with a subsequent rotatory movement to the movement of the wedge element 19 in the forming direction 17 to the section 3 with the force required for the smoothing. For this purpose the wedge element 19 would have to have a corresponding geometry, as explained above.

With the arrangement shown in FIGS. 5 through 7, it is furthermore possible to use the die 15 as a stop for the forming punch 9 during the forming of the section 3. For this purpose either the die 15 must be arranged so as to be immovable with respect to the retaining device 7 with the axial distance to the surface 45 facing the body 5 that corresponds to the desired forming depth of the section 3. Alternatively, the spring mount 35 can be designed so that the die 15 withdraws as shown and at a defined depth offers a sufficiently high resistance to limit the forming. 

1. A tool device for forming at least one section of a less precisely positioned body by an amount such that the at least one section to be formed lies relative to it the tool device in a more precisely defined position, the tool device comprising: at least one movable retaining device and at least one forming punch that is movable in a direction of the retaining device, wherein the at least one section to be formed is arranged between the retaining device and the forming punch, and during the forming the forming punch is brought from an initial position pinto a defined end position relative to the at least one section to be formed; and a wedge element that is in mating contact with at least one of the retaining device and a die, in such a way that a movement of the wedge element effects a movement of the retaining device and/or of the die in a forming direction.
 2. The tool device according to claim 1, wherein the forming punch is fixed to one leg of an essentially L-shaped bracket and another leg is slidably mounted on an end of a base of the tool device.
 3. The tool device according to claim 2, wherein the wedge element is formed by a wedge displacer that is guided in the base.
 4. The tool device according to claim 3, wherein the wedge displacer is actuated by a cylinder.
 5. The tool device according to claim 1, wherein the tool device includes a punching tool.
 6. The tool device according to claim 1, further comprising a spring mount is provided between the wedge element and the retaining device and/or the die.
 7. A method for the forming of at least one section on a less precisely positioned body by an amount such that the section to be formed lies in a more precisely defined position relative to the tool device, with aid of the tool device according to claim
 1. 8. A method for the forming of at least one section on a less precisely positioned body by an amount such that the section to be formed lies in a more precisely defined position relative to the tool devices comprising: positioning of a retaining device on the at least one section to be formed, forming of the at least one section to be formed by moving a forming punch in a direction of the retaining device, and displacing of die within the retaining device in a direction of the forming punch with by moving the wedge element, for smoothing of the formed section.
 9. A method comprising: positioning of a retaining device with respect to at least one section to be formed, without contact taking place between the retaining device and the at least one section, Joint displacement of a die and the retaining device with the aid of the by moving a wedge element, until a contact takes place between the retaining device and the die and the at least one section to be formed, and forming of the at least one section to be formed, by moving a forming punch in a direction of the retaining device against resistance of a spring-mounted die.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein a subsequent smoothing of the at least one section to be formed is carried out.
 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein a stop is formed by the wedge element and the die and/or retaining device, which stop limits the forming of the at least one section to be formed by the forming punch.
 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein a punch process is subsequently carried out on the formed section.
 13. A tool comprising: at least one retaining device; at least one forming punch; a wedge element that is configured to move in mating contact with at least one of the retaining device and a die to effectuate movement of the retaining device and/or the die in a direction towards the at least one forming punch.
 14. The tool according to claim 13, wherein the wedge element includes a wedge displacer that is guided in a base.
 15. The tool according to claim 14, wherein the wedge element is situated adjacent to correspondingly shaped surfaces facing away the die or the retaining device.
 16. The tool according to claim 14, wherein linear movement of the wedge element translates into a movement of the at least one die and the retaining device orthogonal to the linear movement of the wedge.
 17. The tool according to claim 13, wherein the wedge element is formed by a wedge displacer moveable inside a stationary base that holds the die and the retaining body.
 18. The tool according to claim 13, wherein the wedge element is configured to have a rotatory movement.
 19. The tool according to claim 13, further comprising a spring mount provided between the wedge element and the retaining device and/or the die.
 20. The tool according to claim 13, wherein the die is a stop for a forming punch during forming 